City Lights
by Joei Write
Summary: Surly is feeling confused about his last encounter with Andie, so he takes a brief trip into the city to try and clear his head. However, fate has another idea, and Surly finds Andie, pondering something just as important. - Romantic One shot.


City Lights

By Joei Write

Cars whizzed by on the street below as Surly stood steadily on his favorite telephone pole. He pondered over the many thoughts circulating through his head, and he realized that he always found himself standing on this very pole. There was nothing special about it; it was an average cut of wood that had been propped up on the side of the road to have wires strung across the street. Now that he thought about, Surly found that he didn't even really like the pole. At the top, were he found himself standing so frequently, there were wooden protuberances sticking out of the mahogany, or perhaps it was oak? They were serious pains, sometimes Surly even got a splinter from stepping on one. However, it didn't matter to the squirrel; all he cared about was something that was clinching to his brain like the opposite ends of a magnet. Surly rubbed his head and sighed, entirely confused.

His ear twitched, and he turned around to see doves flying over his head. Surly thought he caught a glimpse of the one that had helped him, but they flew away too fast. Surly shook his head and noticed how serene the city looked from the telephone pole on the opposite side of the road. He sniffed the air, and his tail flickered. Perhaps his mind would clear up if he took a short visit into the city, the bustling buildings and lively townsfolk might do his brain some good. Surly scampered down from the top of the large wooden pole and hopped onto the wire. He was quick to place one paw in front of the other as he swiftly darted across the thin, rubber connector. Something didn't seem right to Surly; he'd felt a curious sense of déjà vu hurrying across the wire like that, almost like running away.

It hit him like one of the many cars that continued to zoom below him. It was his banishment that had the nostalgic feeling locked within his memory. All the images came rushing back into Surly's memory like when the dam had broken and the water came flooding towards them. He saw Raccoon and his annoyingly silent little companion, the cardinal, or was that pesky little thing a robin? Surly grunted; it didn't matter to him anymore, the two of them were gone for good. As he continued to make his way across the wire, as he was just past halfway, he couldn't help remembering seeing all the hands of the animals rise up, certifying their agreement to his banishment. At the time, Surly was confused and shocked, but now, he was indifferent on the subject. Surly Squirrel may be a lot of things, but even he knew that he didn't hold long term grudges.

The end was in sight, and Surly skillfully jumped from the connecting box onto the rooftop that the wire had been connected to. He stopped and looked at the ground, or rather, the concrete basing of the rooftop. It looked barren and desolate, much like the way his life had been prior to his heist at the nut store. He'd never admitted it to anyone, but thinking back over it, the idea of banishment and being distained by everyone in the park actually bothered Surly. He was too headstrong and unrefined to see it at the time, but the emotions were finally starting to settle in. Surly shook his head once more, and he huffed proudly. He crawled forward and leaped up onto the ledge of the building. Standing perfectly still, he felt an evening breeze wash over his fur, like the winds of winter had gift wrapped a sample for tasting. He smelled the nut shop from there.

The nuts, the peanut brittle, the sweet alluring odor of Lana's perfume, Surly smelled it all. He hadn't visited the nut shop since that fateful night that Raccoon had locked Andie and the others in the van, intending to get rid of them. He leapt from the edge of the roof and latched onto the metal bars of the staircase across the alleyway. Though they were a bit slippery, they were still no match for Surly's mighty grip. Using his tail for balance, he bounced all the way up the stairs and nearly flew from roof to roof as he drew nearer to the shop. The scents were growing stronger, and soon the golden lights over the front door penetrated Surly's vision. It was a welcoming sight for Surly, for he'd never felt a need to return to a place where he'd committed a heist. He ran down the building and came up to the window.

Surly looked inside and saw Lana sitting behind the desk, he assumed she was doing some kind of paper work for the shop. He also saw that Precious was asleep underneath Lana's feet. Surly felt his tail flicker. The squirrel shrugged and tapped on the glass. The noise was faint, but Precious seemed to hear it, as her head perked up and she looked towards the window. He heard Precious bark, and in the next moment, Lana was up and heading towards the door. Surly heard the bell attached to it ring as the wooden door creaked open. "There you go Precious, do your business." And the door was shut. Precious hobbled down the stairs and smiled at Surly up on the window ledge.

"Hey Surly, what's happening over at the park?"

"Oh, nothing much; with Raccoon gone they're just trying to decide who's gonna lead 'em." Surly answered.

"I can imagine; anything else happen there?"

"No, not really," Surly said and placed his paws on his hips, "Everyone's grateful for the food we brought 'em. But I didn't stick around for that. Buddy and I got outta there as fast as we could. Grayson can absorb all that hero's glory, I've no need for it." Surly declared, but softly, and without much conviction. Precious stopped smiling, and she plopped down onto her rump.

"Well, what about Andie? I thought she might have something to say about that." At the mention of Andie, Surly felt his feet get chilly, and this time there wasn't a breeze coming through.

"Yeah, she did," Surly noted, his nose wriggling, "She wanted the park to know what I did, but like I said, I got outta there. You know, am-scray." The former outcast grunted and removed his hands from his hips and crossed like them Grayson does so frequently.

Surly turned away from Precious and lowered his head. Faced the ground, and in a desperate attempt to avoid thinking about Andie, he starting making mental comparisons of the sidewalk to the rooftop. He scratched at it with his foot, and it didn't take long for Precious to figure out that he was anxious about something. "Hey Surly," And he looked back her way, "Did you an Andie have a fight or something? You seem as if you don't want to talk about her." Surly's tail puffed a bit, and his arms tightened like the electrical wires in the box on the side of the shop.

"What…? No, she and I haven't fought about anything. As a matter of fact, I actually haven't even seen her since the heist." Precious was shocked by this.

"Really," Surly watched her ears perk sideways, "I'm surprised at that. You two really pair together well, like Lana and the shop."

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. As Precious mentioned Lana's name, both canine and rodent heard the bell to the front of the nut shop ring, and the door swung open. The same yellow light from earlier toppled from behind the door and into the street. Shadows were cast over stairs leading down onto the road, and both heard Lana's voice, but neither saw her come out. "Come Precious, I know you're a lady but you shouldn't be taking this long." Surly giggled and bit, and Precious turned to her purple companion.

"She does that a lot. Well, I guess I see you later Surly." She began walking away as she said this, and before she turned the corner and went up the stairs, Surly saw her stop and turn around. "You know, I haven't seen Andie since then either. You should go talk to her and say hi for me." And she left.

The squirrel didn't have the chance to tell her goodbye, and he heard her paws step softly onto the stone steps. The clinging off her collar was put to a halt as the door squeezed shut, and the light coating the small portion of street was retracted. Surly just huffed and got back down on all fours and ran into the alleyway on the opposite side of the building. He didn't feel like going back to the side of shop where the majority of their heist had taken place. It was too poetic for him to handle at the moment. He leapt up from the ground and onto the side of the brick structure and hauled himself up onto the roof. Surly gazed about and did a panorama view of his surroundings. Nothing seemed interesting enough for his full attention, but he did notice that the sun almost entire set. In mere minutes, night would fall.

He scurried over to another buildings, as of then, his idea was false. He'd never intended to go to the nut shop, it just happened that way as Surly went along. Once again he found himself sitting on the ledge of a building on a roof. Surly sat still and his tail wrapped around his body and found its way into his lap. He was a bit surprised to see it there at first, but then he began to pat it gently. Surly never groomed himself before; he was a male squirrel, and there'd never been a need. It was then that Surly realized just how bored he really was. He immediately stopped fiddling with his tail and ran towards the edge of the roof. In one swift motion, he jumped and soared across the gap. While he was silently congratulating himself, he caught a familiar scent. He attempted to follow it, but instead turned around towards the building's ledge found Andie.

There she was, sitting with her tail in her paws and her head down facing the street below. Surly couldn't help but stare at the way her fur reflected the rays reached out from the setting sun. It was as if each individual ray was stretching out to grasp every one of her tuffs of fur. With her head lowered, Surly could see that she was in a trance of thought, much like the way he'd been only shortly before. He watched as her eyes dilated, and her nose squirmed like it was being chased. Her ears perked like Precious' had, and she first picked her head up and looked to the left. Surly was to the right. As she spun her head, following the scent she'd picked up, Andie's tail became puffy, and her pupils widened when she saw Surly standing there on the same ledge as her. "Surly…?"

"Um…uh…I…I'd better go." He said and spun around.

Surly heard Andie sniffle as he faced the other direction. He felt his chest grow warm, and his heartbeat was propelled forward. The stone that made up the ledge of the building seemed to enclose around each of his paws. He found himself unable to move, and it was a moment before he noticed that he had started to breathe heavier than before. Never in his life had he felt nervous about seeing Andie. It appeared as though this would be an evening of firsts. Surly stopped, and the second he did it felt like pyrite stones had been sewn into his stomach, and his lungs were made of lead. He felt short of breath, and he heard Andie's voice carry over to him from behind.

"Yeah, sure; I guess I'll see you around then Surly," Her speech softened, "Nice talking to you…" He didn't watch her turn her head back away from him slowly.

Surly's throat felt like a chimney, and all the seemed to boil up from it was smoldering nothingness. He felt some kind of putrid impulse begin to seep up from within. His fragmented thoughts from earlier were beginning to fall into place, like the sharply jagged pieces of a Death Stroke puzzle. Surly could feel his face vibrating with anticipation and appeasement, and before he fully grasped what he was doing, Andie had come back into his line of sight. He stood back up on two legs and took a step towards her, but the ledge was like broken glass to his feet. "Andie, I wanted to ask you something. It's been bothering me for a while, and I guess I never thought about it until now." Andie stared at Surly, and a small shard of hope emerged from her weary eyes. "About that hug we shared back there…and that comment you made to me."

Andie seemed taken aback but what Surly had just brought up, but that glimmer of hope in her eyes remained. "Oh, uh…yeah," The purple rodent watched her as she rubbed her paws together like she was contemplating suicide. Luckily for Surly, Andie would never do such a thing. "I don't know what came over me Surly. I guess I was just happy to see you. I mean, do you have any idea how you made us feel when you let go of that…thing-a-ma-bob?" Surly crept closer to Andie as she spoke. His lower jaw had fallen a bit, and his eyes were wide. "I think if nothing else, we panicked…I panicked. You've gotten a lot of reactions out of us Surly, but I don't think we ever reacted to any you've done like that."

"Meaning…?"

"Like, that was the first time you've made us…me…react with a sense of loss." Andie stole a glance at Surly, and he was frozen stiff.

At first, Surly was unsure of what to say in response. He'd pondered many thought while he was sitting on that telephone pole earlier, but what were the odds that he would find Andie, and that she'd reveal her thoughts about when he'd let go of the dog whistle? It was an odd occurrence indeed, and also one he'd never have prepared for. "Oh, yeah," Surly said as he tried to grin, but all that formed was a scraggily smile that looked as though someone had run over his tail. "That's not really a moment I'd like to revisit. You don't know what you felt, and I have no idea what came over me. To be honest, I had no intentions of letting go at first. But when I saw you guys struggling, something came over me, and for once, I felt like I needed to do the right thing." Surly cautiously crawled closer to Andie.

The masculine rodent pawed towards the auburn furred female inches away. When he got close enough to her, Surly sat down, and his tail spun around his legs. Andie glanced his way, and she smiled at him warmly. Surly saw the sparkling in her eyes, and he felt his paws start to shake a bit. "I never thought I'd hear something like that out of you Surly. Especially after the first time we met. Do you remember that?" Surly nodded, "I mean, how could I forget? Not only was it the first time I saw you, it was also your first heist as I recall. There you were, a simple little guy running about all over the park trying to outrun the Bruisers. I think you'd stolen their berries, or what it their shagbark hickory? I don't know, but I do remember watching them chase you from up in the oak tree with my mother nearby."

Andie began to giggled, and she placed her paw over her mouth quickly. Surly's cracked smile faded, and he instead raised a brow and his left ear twitched. "Um, is something funny…?" Surly said and got up on two legs, taking a step towards her and lifting his paws up to his chest. Andie looked his way and saw his reaction, and stopped.

"Sorry Surly," She began, "Thinking about the first time I saw you reminded me of the moment that Raccoon saw the mayhem as well. His reaction made me laugh, and I guess it still does today. Do you remember, he was so surprised to see a little purple squirrel running through the park that he dropped his breakfast and his tail puffed up. It was like someone had scared him, and his mouth hung open like his mother was pulling on his lower lip."

Surly was shocked that Andie had remember that. He'd figured that everyone in the park had tried their best to forget about the day Surly had first plopped into their lives. He shook his head to clear it, and after the shuddering world stopped shaking, he saw that Andie had reverted back to her previously solemn expression. Surly got closer to her, so close that he could've reached out and touched her paw if he wanted. "What's bothering you Andie?" He said in a sweet, near melodious tone. Andie turned towards him, and she saw his sincerity.

"Well, I've been thinking," Andie never got so serious about anything; she was beginning to worry Surly. "Since Raccoon went over the falls, I've been spending a lot of time with the little ones around the park. It got me thinking and…I've decided I want little ones of my own." Surly's eyes stretched around the world, and then back again.

At first, Surly wasn't sure how to respond. Andie had decided that she was ready to have children of her own? That wasn't exactly a small decision. That was huge, even momentous. Andie having children would mean a great many things for the park; no, it would mean a great many things for Surly. The male squirrel trembled at the news, but there was nothing he could think of that seemed appropriate to say. "What do you think Surly? I know it's a big decision, but…I really love working with the kids." Andie looked at Surly, and she saw that he wasn't moving. She didn't worry, she expected him to be shocked when she said it. "Surly…?"

He blinked rapidly, and he gurgled his lips. He sniffed the air and pouted. His ears drooped, and he sat back down, for he'd stood up after being told. "So I guess that means you're getting a mate, right?"

"Well, yeah…I suppose that'd be part of it. I had that thought. It's a little overwhelming, actually. All this time I've lived in the park, I never thought about having children or getting a mate. Maybe it's just because the park has really settled down since that heist we pulled. There's plenty of food, everyone's happy, and there's no fighting at all of any kind. Of course, there's always Grayson to provoke someone's anger. But, I think he just sparks ours."

"Yeah, no kidding…" And she laughed.

"Hey, Surly…?" Andie directed at her company. He stared back towards her, and he noticed a look of profound wisdom that he hadn't noticed before. "This might be an awkward to ask but…if I was to get a mate…who do you think would be best for me?" If Andie could see Surly's skin turn red the moment after she asked that question, she would've thought Surly had fallen ill with a disease.

Surly's emotions fluctuated between sane and impenetrable. How was a male squirrel supposed to answer a question such as that? It then occurred to Surly that he'd been asking himself a lot of questions that evening. "Uh," He was drawing a blank. There was absolutely nothing he could think of to tell her. How many squirrels in the park, besides Grayson obviously, would treat Andie the way she deserved to be treated? How many would wake up every morning and realize how lucky they were that a red squirrel like Andie had decided to be theirs? The question baffled Surly, and as he'd done many times before, he rubbed his head and groaned. His head felt like it was splitting into the same four quadrants that one graph a parabola on. "Not Grayson…! That much I can assure you. He's not really…you know, your type…or anyone's…" Andie smiled and sniffled.

"Don't worry, I know about Grayson."

Before Surly could speak another word, he watched as Andie's expression changed from enlightenment to bewilderment. Her sweet smile transformed into a downturned curve, and her ears fell back like someone had stapled them to her head. Her pupils widened, and her eyes narrowed as if some predatory instinct had been awakened. "Uh, Andie…?" Surly spoke up. The sound of his voice seemed to break Andie from her mental entanglement, as she instantly reverted back to normal.

"Oh, sorry Surly," She was trembling as she spoke, "I was just…imagining how the park would react if it ended up…you know, somehow…being you." Surly hadn't fully registered what she had said.

"What…?"

"You know, if you wound up being my mate. I'm sure the entire park would erupt into some kind of unlawful protest. They'd convert into a giant bandwagon of curmudgeons. The Bruisers would probably come after you, and…it'd just be absolute chaos." Andie clenched her paws.

The thought that he might become Andie mate had never crossed Surly's mind. Her comment and that she'd even envisioned them as such rattled Surly. His tail scooped up bountiful fistfuls of air and tossed them about like he was a juggling act in the retired Cirque du Soleil show, _Kooza_. Along with Andie, he also began to have images of what the park would do if they somehow became engaged. The images he conjured up in his mind weren't pleasing, and he immediately tried to bury them into his subconscious, as deeply as possible. Andie fixed her posture as she finished speaking, and she was now facing Surly head on. She was propped up on two legs, and her paws were close to her chest. Surly and Andie were face to face, and Surly shrugged.

"Ah, that'd never happen…besides, I'm a thief remember? I've never considered myself," Surly noticed that Andie was staring at him. "Husband material…"

The glittering light from the sun had long since faded, and the two stood it utter darkness, with only the surrounding light from the nearby buildings illuminating their conversation. In a wicked twist of fate, their words had ceased, and both squirrels found themselves locked in a transcendent gaze. The twinges in Surly's belly had disappeared, and were now instead replaced with butterflies of all colors, one for each shred of wonder that was slowly filling him. Andie was feeling the same, for now that the sun had set, she saw radiant moon beams travel through the expanses of Surly's eyes, and then bounce out like they were on a bed of stargazer lilies. Andie noticed that his eyes were drawing closer, and not just his eyes, his entirety was coming closer to her. The light ceased, and was instead replaced by the overpowering sensation of Surly's lips firmly joining against Andie's. Her stomach twisted, and his ran away completely.

A fire was sparked between their muzzles as they pressed together, and it warmed each of them like the sun was still shining. Surly wasn't trembling anymore, and he didn't care how he'd found his way into this kiss, but every strand of fur on his tail was jittering with excitement and ecstasy as the passionate exchange was prolonged. Andie felt her paws go cold, but her ears had heated up swiftly. The knot in her stomach evaporated into wayward particles that quickly did a roundabout and returned to her lungs. All her insides had frozen, but through the weaning blackness, she felt that what was once joined to her was no longer there. Her eyes flashed open, and she saw that Surly was pulling away. The second their lips were disconnected, some forlorn attachment had rejuvenated throughout Andie and Surly both. Surly's eyes flickered open, and he began to hyperventilate. His eyes began to dilate.

"Uh," for the first time in his life, Surly had nothing to say, but it was clear he was embarrassed. He watched as Andie smiled euphorically, and with compassion bursting from her eyes in wholesome tears, Surly was helpless to stop Andie as she placed her paws on Surly's neck and locked him into yet another kiss. This time, Surly wasn't so hesitant, and he found that his paws had drifted to her to hips and was holding her there firmly. An onlooker would've described what they were seeing as a kiss straight out of a fairy tale. Surly was the prince, and Andie was Sleeping Beauty, the kiss of true love that would awaken her from an eternal sleep. The tension inside of them was gone, and the world melted into their embrace. Surly saw a vision of their future as they kissed; he saw children running about, and he saw themselves parenting them elusively.

This time, it was Andie that broke the moment, and she stroked Surly's face as he stared at her with utter awe. The moonlight that hung above them was like curtains that enveloped them, and Surly found himself smiling at her. When Andie smiled back, Surly's universe had developed into her face for that moment. He saw in her smile many things, and they all came over Surly so suddenly that he'd thought that a lightning bolt had struck him and his life was flashing before his eyes. He saw understanding, envy, greed, passion, fortitude, compliance, and the will to endure. Everything he could've ever hoped to find in a mate was standing before him, and before that moment he'd never realized it. Prior to then, Surly always seen himself and Andie on opposite ends of the totem pole, but now, in that instant, he saw them together, side by side with the entire park behind them.

Andie's smile didn't fade as she got even closer to Surly, and then she proceeded to wrap her arms around his chest. She pressed her nose into his fur, and he heard her breathe steadily, as if she was trying to be strategic about it. Surly grinned peacefully, entirely content with what was happening, even though he ordinarily didn't enjoy being touched. He too spread his arms out and reached around Andie's shoulders, embracing her and pulled her close. Surly could smell the sweet scent of Andie's fur, and it by far surpassed everything he'd previously smelled that night. It was a pristine combination of pine needle and freshly cut grass. Surly leaned his head down onto hers as the hug continued, for their kiss may have ended, but the moment certainly hadn't.

"Hey Andie," He spoke the first word, "When you make your decision, be sure to let me know…" He felt Andie's smile return.

"I will," Her voice was like wind weaving through winter icicles, "I promise you that, Surly." With that, Andie pulled her head away from Surly, and their arms returned to their sides. They stood staring at each other, perspiration reflecting from their bodies. Neither was ashamed to admit it, they had begun to sweat after the initial kiss.

With a quick glance into Andie's eyes, and under the glorious glow of the moon, Surly turned around to leave. As he spun around to go, he stopped, for a final thought had crossed his mind. "Hey Andie," She hadn't yet looked away from him, "I think I know one guy that might be good for you… maybe doesn't deserve you, and he's not good at a lot of things. In fact, the only thing I know him for gets him into a lot of trouble; but when it comes to stealing, I fail to see the crime in stealing someone's heart."

An invisible artist had picked up her paint brush and delicately brought to life an image on their sheet. The image was perfect, a righteous muse. Andie had the smile of an early morning swan, and her counterpart staring at her was the sun's rays, travelling though the waters she rested on an bouncing off of her, only making her look more beautiful. Surly still hadn't moved, for he was still firmly planted to the ground where he had stopped and made his comment. A smile of his very own crept onto his face, and for the first time since he'd seen Andie that evening, he realized that his tail wasn't twitching. "I guess I'll see you around then Andie." He said, and like a newborn grizzly cub, he bumbled backwards, nearly hopping along with jolly resolve. "Oh," Surly exclaimed, "I almost forgot…Precious says hi." And with that, he jumped the ledge and vanished.

The red squirrel couldn't believe what had just happened to her. One moment, she was sitting on the ledge of a building thinking over what was probably the largest decision of her life, and along came Surly. If it had been anyone else, Andie thought she wouldn't feel so completed, and yet so empty at precisely that same moment. She looked around her to see if anyone had witnessed what had occurred, and she was relieved to see that she was alone. The butterflies that had spawned within her still flutter about as if Andie had an enchanted forest sprouting from her belly, and all around her, the world seemed to move so idly. One final smile slipped onto her face, and she stole a last glance in the direction that Surly has gone. It was a chilly night, but Andie hadn't noticed, and she basked in the warm glow of the city lights.


End file.
